Winter comes in many forms all around the world, from freezing mountain tops to warm islands. What is winter like where you live? Is it numbingly cold, scorching hot, or in-between?
The first country we are focusing on for this Winter Exploration is the Czech Republic. In the Czech Republic, winter isn't freezing, but is definitely cold, with lowest temperatures around 23 degrees fahrenheit. With their abundance of mountains, skiing is a popular activity. Their first snow can come as early as November. Around christmas each year, the city of Prague holds a christmas market, full of wonderful knick knacks.
Next we are focusing on the Netherlands, a beautiful country, with a fairly cold winter with temperatures from 35-43 degrees fahrenheit. Since the Netherlands is such a small country, there is little variation in climate. The Netherlands is known to be very windy, due to the flat environment. The Netherlands is also subject to various gales (big gusts of wind). The Netherlands is known for great ice skating conditions, and maritime weather.
Australia on the other hand, is very different. While we are making snowmen and having snowball fights, they are surfing and enjoying what their summer has to offer. Since Australia is in the southern hemisphere, they enjoy summer the same time other countries experience winter. Their summer is December to February, whereas their winter is June to August. Their summer has an average temperature of 104 degrees fahrenheit. This time is the wet season, humid and sunny. Instead of building the traditional snowman these lucky australians get to make sandmen!
Finally we have Thailand, a warm country that doesn't see much snow. The average highest temperature of summer is 86° fahrenheit, and the average lowest temperature is 50° fahrenheit, but it can only reach such low temperatures in the north. Thailand is a monsoon region, making it very windy in certain parts of the year. The Thai people celebrate the King’s Birthday to honor King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Birthday on December 5th.
What country do you want to experience winter in? Is it the cold conditions of the Czech Republic?
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